International News Briefs for Monday, December 29, 2025
HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Monday, December 29, 2025.
“It’ll Be a Christmas Present”: Trump Orders Military Strikes on Northern Nigeria
Dec 29, 2025
Image Credit: U.S. Department of War via X
The U.S. launched airstrikes in Nigeria Thursday on Christmas Day, claiming to hit two ISIS camps in Sokoto state. The Nigerian Foreign Ministry acknowledged cooperation with the United States, including sharing intelligence. Speaking to WABC, President Trump cast the strikes as a Christmas present.
President Donald Trump: “I said, ‘Hit them on Christmas Day. It’ll be a Christmas present.’ We hit ISIS, who have — terrible. They’re butchers.”
The strikes came after President Trump repeatedly claimed that a genocide against Christians was taking place in Nigeria. But the village that was bombed, Jabo in northwestern Sokoto state, has no recorded history of anti-Christian terrorism, according to locals. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s information minister said, “Portraying Nigeria’s security challenges as a targeted campaign against a single religious group is a gross misrepresentation of reality.” It comes as a suicide bomber detonated an explosive inside a mosque in Nigeria’s Borno state on Christmas Day, killing five worshipers and injuring 35. Jennifer Kavanagh, a director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, said, “The U.S. action taken in Nigeria while Americans celebrated the Christmas holiday is an unnecessary and unjustified use of U.S. military force that violates Mr. Trump’s promises to his supporters to put American interests first and avoid risky and wasteful military campaigns abroad.” This is Moromoke Saka, whose home was damaged in the U.S. airstrikes.
Moromoke Saka: “I could have been killed by now if the wall of the house that broke had collapsed on me. Praise to God Almighty, I survived.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Africa Command confirmed airstrikes against ISIS targets in Somalia over four days, from the 22nd to Christmas Day. We’ll have more on U.S. airstrikes in the region later in the broadcast.
Ahead of Talks with Ukraine’s Zelensky, Trump Claims Russia “Wants to See Ukraine Succeed”
Dec 29, 2025
President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met at Mar-a-Lago Sunday, where President Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine were “maybe very close” to a peace deal. Ahead of the meeting, Russia launched a barrage of drones on Kyiv Saturday in a 10-hour attack, killing two people and injuring 44. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians were left without heat as a result of the strikes. Speaking to reporters, Zelensky said that the U.S. had offered a security guarantee for 15 years, while he had asked for up to 50 years. Ahead of his meeting with Zelensky, President Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone.
President Donald Trump: “They’re going to be helping. Russia is going to be helping. Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed. Once — it sounds a little strange, but I was explaining to the president, President Putin was very generous in his feeling toward Ukraine succeeding, including supplying energy, electricity and other things at very low prices.”
Winter Storm Brings Added Misery to Gaza’s Displaced Palestinians
Dec 29, 2025
In Gaza, a winter storm has compounded the misery of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in tents after Israel’s more than two-year bombardment destroyed or damaged most of the territory’s buildings. On Sunday, a 30-year-old woman was killed when a wall collapsed on her tent amid heavy rains. Several members of her family were injured. Others faced severe flooding, frigid temperatures and wind and rain that blew away tents. This is Wael al-Sheikh Khalil, a displaced Palestinian in Khan Younis.
Wael al-Sheikh Khalil: “People hate the winter now. They used to say during the summer that the tent is very hot. But the heat is better than the cold winter. During the summer, you can go out and take off your clothes, roll up your sleeves and walk away. But now there’s no way. The covers and mattresses are all soaked in water. There is nothing to warm yourself up with.”
U.N. and Palestinian officials estimate at least 300,000 new tents are urgently needed for about 1.5 million Palestinians still displaced by Israel’s assault, as Israel continues to block the importation of shelters and other aid.
Rights Groups Demand Israel Release Dr. Abu Safiya and Other Health Workers Abducted from Gaza
Dec 29, 2025
Palestinian health officials suspended services at Gaza’s Al-Awda Hospital on Thursday due to a shortage of fuel. It came as human rights groups marked one year since Israeli forces seized Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya from the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, where he served as director. He’s been held by Israel, without trial, ever since. Advocates say Dr. Abu Safiya’s health has deteriorated while he’s faced cruel and inhumane treatment in prison. He’s among more than 430 health workers abducted by Israel from Gaza and the West Bank since October of 2023.
Attacker Kills 2 in Northern Israel After Reservist Uses Vehicle to Ram Praying Palestinian
Dec 29, 2025
In northern Israel, at least two people were killed when a Palestinian man launched a car-ramming and stabbing attack in the city of Afula on Friday. Israel’s military said in response it was demolishing the home of the attacker and was launching raids across the town of Qabatiya in the occupied West Bank. The attack came a day after an Israeli army reservist in civilian clothes was caught on video ramming his vehicle into a Palestinian man who was praying peacefully on the side of the road. The reservist had been caught on camera earlier that day shooting a rifle at residents of Deir Jarir. Israel’s military said in response it had suspended the man’s status as a reservist and released him to five days of house arrest.
Netanyahu Arrives in Florida for Meeting with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago
Dec 29, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived in Florida ahead of his meeting with President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Flight tracking data show Netanyahu’s aircraft crossed Greek, Italian and French airspace en route to the U.S. All three nations are signatories to the Rome Statute, which obliged them to arrest Netanyahu, who has an outstanding arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza. NBC News reports Netanyahu is prepared to brief Trump about Israel’s plans to attack Iran again, citing repairs to its nuclear program following U.S. and Israeli strikes earlier this year.
Israel Becomes First and Only Nation to Recognize Somaliland as Sovereign State
Dec 29, 2025
Image Credit: SHAQALE GODAAD
Israel on Friday became the first and only nation to recognize the breakaway Somali region of Somaliland as a sovereign state, a move that was met with criticism from U.N. member nations who pointed to Israel’s continued unwillingness to recognize a Palestinian state.
United Nations: Violence in Sudan Has Displaced More Than 10,000 People in Three Days
Dec 29, 2025
Image Credit: WFP
In Sudan, the United Nations warns renewed violence in the country’s western and southern regions has displaced more than 10,000 people in just three days amid intense fighting between the army and its paramilitary rival, the Rapid Support Forces. The latest violence has uprooted thousands of people near Sudan’s western border with Chad and in Sudan’s famine-stricken state of South Kordofan.
Burma’s Ruling Junta Holds First Round of Elections Since Toppling Democratically Elected Government
Dec 29, 2025
Burma’s military rulers held the first round of elections Sunday since toppling a democratically elected government in 2021. Only about one-third of eligible voters cast ballots in an initial phase of the election, which will entirely exclude people in dozens of townships not under the control of Burma’s military. Ahead of the election, Tom Andrews, the U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma, wrote, “An election organized by a junta that continues to bomb civilians, jail political leaders, and criminalize all forms of dissent is not an election — it is a theater of the absurd performed at gunpoint.”
Thailand and Cambodia Firm Up Ceasefire in China
Dec 29, 2025
The foreign ministers of Thailand and Cambodia met in Beijing today, days after they signed a new ceasefire agreement to end weeks of fighting along their border. The conflict has killed more than 100 people and displaced over half a million in both countries. A statement from the Chinese foreign minister reads, “China stands ready to continue to provide [the] platform and create conditions for Cambodia and Thailand to have fuller and more detailed communication.” Earlier, President Trump claimed that the U.S. “has become the REAL United Nations,” boasting about a July ceasefire that later broke down.
British Egyptian Activist and Longtime Political Prisoner Alaa Abd El-Fattah Arrives in the U.K.
Dec 29, 2025
The British Egyptian activist and longtime political prisoner Alaa Abd El-Fattah has arrived in the United Kingdom after Egypt lifted a travel ban on him. In a statement, El-Fattah said he would soon be reunited with his 14-year-old son Khaled. The writer and political dissident was a leading voice in the 2011 Arab Spring protests that toppled the Mubarak dictatorship, and he has been repeatedly targeted by the current authoritarian government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Most recently, he was sentenced to five years in prison for a Facebook post. He’s now pushing back against Conservative and far-right British politicians who’ve called for his citizenship to be revoked to enable his swift removal from the U.K. over his past social media posts. On Sunday, Alaa apologized unequivocally for past posts that are genuinely offensive, while saying other posts are being deliberately distorted and weaponized against him.
Virginia Man Confesses to Placing Pipe Bombs Outside RNC and DNC Before Jan. 6 Insurrection
Dec 29, 2025
A Virginia man has confessed to placing two pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., the night before the January 6, 2021, insurrection. Brian Cole Jr. was arrested earlier this month and charged with transporting an explosive device and attempted malicious destruction by means of explosive materials. According to court papers, Cole told the FBI “something just snapped” after “watching everything, just everything getting worse.” He also said he felt like he needed to “speak up,” alleging that the 2020 election had been “tampered with.” Former federal prosecutors have warned Brian Cole Jr.’s defense might argue that President Trump’s broad pardons of January 6 rioters could cover any crimes Cole Jr. committed.
Trump Blasts DOJ Release of 1 Million More Epstein Files
Dec 29, 2025
President Trump has complained about the Justice Department’s release of 1 million more files related to the late serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. On Truth Social, Trump said in part, “Now 1,000,000 more pages on Epstein are found. DOJ is being forced to spend all of its time on this Democrat inspired Hoax. When do they say NO MORE, and work on Election Fraud etc.” Meanwhile, Republican Congressmember Thomas Massie, a co-sponsor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, is criticizing the DOJ’s release of the Epstein files, writing on social media, “Attorney General Pam Bondi’s most egregious violation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act is not that she ignores the deadline. It’s that she’s redacting names of accused sex offenders and internal communications about decisions, wrongly citing old rules that are overridden by new law.” This comes as Julie Brown, a journalist at the Miami Herald, whose reporting led to the arrests of Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, said on social media, “Does somebody at the DOJ want to tell me why my American Airlines booking information and flights in July 2019 are part of the Epstein files (attached to a grand jury subpoena)? As the flight itinerary includes my maiden name (and I did book this flight) why was the DOJ monitoring me?”
Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina Secures Recognition from the Federal Government
Dec 29, 2025
Image Credit: Danielle Battaglia/ZUMA/Reuters
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina has secured recognition from the federal government, more than 137 years since it first petitioned Congress for recognition. President Trump formalized the move on Thursday when he signed the Lumbee Fairness Act as part of the $901 billion military spending bill. The Lumbee Tribe is now the largest east of the Mississippi River, with nearly 60,000 members. They’ll now have access to federal resources from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, including support for education, housing and healthcare.
Palestinian Actor and Filmmaker Mohammad Bakri Dies at 72
Dec 29, 2025
Image Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
The acclaimed Palestinian actor and filmmaker Mohammad Bakri died at 72 in northern Israel on Christmas Eve. He appeared in more than 40 films and directed documentaries highlighting the experiences of Palestinians living under occupation. He was best known for his 2002 documentary, “Jenin, Jenin,” featuring the voices of Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp following a devastating Israeli military operation that killed 52 Palestinians. In 2007, Bakri spoke to Democracy Now! about interviewing survivors of the Jenin massacre.
Mohammad Bakri: “They wanted to tell their stories, because they were still in shock. When I came in Jenin, I was shocked with what I saw. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t feel. I was really just humiliated as a human being, not as a Palestinian, not as a director, not as an actor, just as a human. How come people can do such things like that in the camp?”